Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Counseling and Phishing

I had another counselling appointment this afternoon. I won't get into everything, but I will say it was very hard.

I talked about how sad and kind of nuts I felt last night after I got an email from the real estate agent telling me that my Mom's condo was listed and that people were going to view it. What's wrong with me? I arranged for the real esate agent to help us sell it and I arranged for my relatives to come and choose what they wanted. I know I should be over the moon and proud of myself for setting everything in motion, and yet I feel like my heart is breaking.

I can hear Mom say, "Be brave Annie, be brave and strong. It's just a condominium, people are more important than places and things!" Mom is. of course, right, and I know that once my mind gets wrapped around this new development I'll be fine.

I have so much of Mom around me, not just photos and furniture but within every cell of my body. She taught me the value of being kind and of having a sense of humour when things got hard. And, of course, she taught me to be brave and strong.

When I got home and had dinner, I checked my email and freaked out because one message said that I had spent almost $300 on two audio books - which I knew wasn't true! And that meant to me that somebody had hacked into my iTunes account, and if and if they could do that then maybe they could hack into my Visa and bank accounts. I clicked on the link it said if I wanted to dispute any purchases but it took me to a weird looking page. I should have recognized that it was a phishing scam but I was too panicky. I checked my online Visa and saw nothing, but just to be sure reset my iTunes password and called a technician but he never called back. By this time I had calmed down and looked at the email again and saw the smaller print below said they would ask for your financial details, and I mentally slapped myself in the forehead! iTunes would never ask for your financial details. It was a phishing scam!

I felt so foolish! But more than that, I felt sad. Because if Rob had been here I would have asked him for his opinion and he would have known right away that it was a scam.

I miss you, Mom! I miss you, Rob! You both taught me so much and shaped me into the person I am now.